The present disclosure is directed to methods and apparatuses for pulling conductors through conduit installations. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to a wireless-enabled tension meter for measuring tension exerted by a puller system on a guiding member, such as a cable, rope, or wire, used to pull conductors through conduit installations.
During construction of houses, apartment buildings, warehouses, manufacturing facilities, office buildings, and the like, conduit is often run between electrical panels and power consumption sites to comply with various building codes and/or for safety or energy efficiency considerations. After the conduit is installed, a guiding member, such as a cable, rope, wire, or other flexible material, is threaded through the conduit and attached to the end of a number of conductors with tape or other attachment mechanisms. The guiding member is then pulled back through the conduit with the conductors attached thereto. In some practices, the guiding member is manually pulled through the conduit, but in an effort to expedite the process or for larger installations that are infeasible using manpower alone, a puller system (“puller”) is often used to pull the guiding member and therefore the conductor through the conduit to a desired location. In addition to the puller, a feeder system (“feeder”) is often used to feed the conductors into the conduit to prevent tangling, snagging, and/or damage to the conductors. The feeder may be provided by one or more people or automated by a machine.
The force exerted on the guiding member during a pull is referred to as tension or tension force. It is possible for the magnitude of the tension force to exceed a threshold at which the guiding member breaks, which may result in the conductors being stranded within the conduit installation, and thereby complicating the completion of the pull. Furthermore, pulling conductors and guiding members through conduit creates friction that can wear the conduit, the conductors, and/or the guiding members. The severity of the wear depends upon several factors such as the frictional characteristics of the conductors and guiding members (e.g., lubricated or dry), the layout of the conduit (e.g., the number of bends and the sharpness/radius of the bends), and the speed with which the guiding member and the conductors are pulled through the conduit. Friction, in addition to potentially causing tears or other damage to the conductors and/or the guiding member, results in increased tension on the guiding member, which may result in failure. Failure can be prevented, however, by measuring tension of the guiding member with a running line tension meter and controlling the power to the puller based on the tension measurement.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.